Nov. 16, 2006 — A star-shaped robot that senses and responds to changes in the environment and damage in its own body could help shape the future of mobile robotics.
The four-legged Starfish robot, reported by Josh Bongard, Victor Zykov and Hod Lipson of Cornell University in today's issue of Science, continually refines its built-in software to move efficiently — wherever it is, and whatever its condition.
The robot can adapt to changes in both terrain and itself — walking on three legs, for example, if the fourth is lost.
The Starfish could lead the way for a new generation of autonomous robots that can quickly adjust to unpredictable environments and circumstances, much the same way people and other animals do.
The technology is "very powerful," said Dario Floreano, director of the Institute of Systems Engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. "It's a major advance in the field." Floreano is not associated with the research.
The software in conventional robots typically doesn't account for unpredictable changes in the environment, or to the robot itself, that could restrict its movement.
But the Starfish can explore its own abilities and limitations, taking them into account before planning a move.
The robot begins by getting a sense of itself, testing each of its joints with random motions. Sensors on the joints capture each joint's range of motion and feed that information to the 15 mathematical models built into its controlling software.
Each model figures out one possible mode of locomotion. For example, one model might find how the robot is capable of scurrying scorpion-like on three legs, using the fourth like a tail for balance. Another might offer a way for the robot to scuttle sideways like a crab.
Every model may be accurate on some level, but not all are efficient.
